A recent study showed that those without health plans fare worse than those who are covered.

Recent study results have joined a growing body of evidence showing that health insurance coverage is directly related to improved wellness. This also suggests that Obamacare may be improving the health of Americans.

This research has shown that it is not just overall health that is benefiting but cancer patients are specifically finding help.

A broad spectrum of studies have linked health care quality with insurance coverage. Reduced medical outcomes are also directly connected with socioeconomic factors such as ethnicity and poverty. This is often due to a reduced health care access and vital delays in receiving treatment. A new health insurance coverage study has shown that having a policy improves cancer outcomes.

The research looked specifically at men diagnosed with testicular cancer. Those without insurance of any form – including Medicaid – are likely to have a more advanced form of testicular cancer at the time of diagnosis. This means they have larger tumors and, as a result a greater likelihood of dying from the disease. That said, those with private insurance have a greater likelihood of early diagnosis, treatment and survival.

For the majority of patients, testicular cancer is considered to be curable. This is true even if the cancer has spread. However, if diagnosis and/or treatment are delayed, it allows the disease to advance and increases the risk of fatality, said the researchers.

According to Dana-Farber Cancer Institute medical oncologist, Christopher Sweeney, this explains why eliminating the barriers to health care access should be deemed “an important part of the war on cancer.” Sweeney was the study’s lead author. The research was published within the Cancer journal.

To conduct this health insurance coverage impact study, Sweeney and his team identified 10,211men who had received a testicular cancer diagnosis between the years 2007 and 2011. Uninsured men had an 88 percent higher risk of death than those with private insurance. Men with Medicaid had a 51 percent higher risk of death than those with private health coverage.